Supporting white-clawed crayfish
White-clawed crayfish (WCC) are the only native species of freshwater crayfish in the UK and have suffered a large population decline in recent years, due to many factors including the introduction of American signal crayfish into river ecosystems. North Yorkshire is a stronghold for the endangered white-clawed crayfish, but the population is under threat and could disappear completely if no action is taken.
The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust has received funding from Yorkshire Water’s Biodiversity Enhancement Programme to implement an 18-month project across North Yorkshire on behalf of the North Yorkshire Crayfish Forum of which we are a member. Launched in April 2021, the project saw the appointment of a Crayfish Stakeholder Officer (Vanessa Barlow) who will implement work in line with the forum’s North Yorkshire Crayfish Strategy. This work will focus on 5 river catchments: the Swale, Ure, Nidd, Foss, and Derwent.
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Key aims
- Recruitment and training of voluntary ‘Crayfish Champions’ who will conduct surveys to improve baseline data and carry out ongoing monitoring to better understand the distribution of WCC and identify priority water catchments (Surveys will be carried out July, August and September in 2021 and 2022).
- Development of education materials in partnership with existing INNS programmes to provide advice on biosecurity, targeted towards crayfish, which will be shared at events.
- Development of the North Yorkshire Crayfish Forum’s Delivery Plan and increase resilience of the forum to help the group grow its impact, evidence, and future sustainability.
Key achievements of project
- 16 crayfish surveys
- Identified 2 new white-clawed crayfish and 3 signal crayfish populations
- 21 Crayfish Champions recruited and 320 volunteer hours recorded
- Production of crayfish pocket guide, landowner guide and pull-out banners
- Production of North Yorkshire Crayfish Forum’s 5 Year Delivery Plan and strategy update
- Attended 6 events to promote crayfish awareness and biosecurity
Funders
This project was funded by Yorkshire Water.
A crayfish with porcelin disease
Crayfish biosecurity training
Crayfish biosecurity training
Crayfish biosecurity training